Hello, boys,
I just stumbled onto this forum and I'm looking forward to making some new friends. Thanks to all who have said nice things about my work! Phone restoration is a passion for me.
Mr. finlover:
How do we know it is you and not an impersonator?
Jorge
Fair question. Finlover is a bit of a celebrity around here, his phones on e-bay are pretty amazing, both the quality of the restoration and the presentation.
Querido, Jorge,
De veras, soy yo!
El Goyo
Thank you for the compliment, McHeath. I'll take a little celebrity any way I can get it! ;D
For those who don't know, here's an example of his work. My eyes need to adjust to the color ;D :o
http://tinyurl.com/o99fuh
Finlover, the legend arrives!
Thanks for the link, Brian. Amazing what a can of Krlyon can do... ;)
Seriously, I've found that taking my photos in the morning in the shade produces the best color. I'm no photog--it's a decent Sony digital camera that I barely know how to use.
finlover, tells about your collection ;)
Finlover;
Welcome to our little world.
You do great work, and I look forward to many interesting posts, to and from you.
Regards;
D/P
Welcome from the new guy. You do seriously nice work.
I am happy to finally hear from THEE MAN! You do use turtle wax F21 or some kind of armoral type polish right before you take your pics, right? You do gorgeous work!
I've even seen people copy your presentation , word for word, and the phone not even have it's "soft center" fingerwheel.
Welcome aboard Finlover. We are glad to have you on the forum. We look forward to reading about all of your secrets for refurbishing telephones! It's good to hear from you.
Thanks for all your nice words, guys! After sanding and hand polishing with Novus 1 and 2, my phones get that shiny finish thanks to a final polish on a buffing wheel, followed by a spritz of car detailer (I like "Ice" by Turtle Wax, I think) on a soft terry cloth.
Now that I'm part of this forum, please do me the favor of letting me know when my descriptions are plagiarized. I work hard on them and it really burns me up when someone lifts them. >:(
welcome finlover, I saw that you do a great job in restoring phones, great!
Alright, BDM, you asked so here goes. My collection is made up mostly of 500s (SURPRISE!) with a few 554s for good measure. Older phones are cool, but they don't speak to me like the 500s. I have every color except Rose Beige, Mahogany Brown and Oxford Gray (my holy grail). All are in mint condition.
The crown jewels of my collection are a '56 Mediterranean Blue 501, a new old stock aqua '58 500, and an all original '55 red 500 that I'm leaving to Jorge in my will. The others are pre-'63 models for the most part because I'm a fan of triangular feet. My only gold bottom is a Turquoise '67 500 because it was just too nice to sell. The only non-W.E. phones are Stromberg Carlsons, a 500 and a 554 in lime green (love it!), and an orange 500.
Welcome finlover. I must say you do fine work!
;D Welcome to the forum, finlover...
Bill Cahill
finlover:
How old are you?
Jorge
Glad you're here too, Finlover! What took you so long? ;D
I'm 41 at the end of this month. I'm no spring chicken anymore, but at least I still have most of my hair (for now). :)
Thank you again for the warm welcome, gentlemen!
Do you like the Miami DolPHINS? Please explain your name, thanks.
My name comes from my love of finned '50s cars. I have a '59 Oldsmobile, which isn't really very finny compared to the Cadillac from that year.
That's a nice Olds. welcome to the forum Finlover.
Quote from: finlover
My name comes from my love of finned '50s cars.
You aren't alone. There's quite a bit of discussion about good old cars on this forum. Just do a search for "cars" in the "off topics" section. ;)
OH, MY!! :o Nice car!!
Bill Cahill
That is some awesome color! I believe there is an AE34 or 40 with that color. Did you do the paint job?
Jorge
Thanks, Jorge!
The color was called Burgundy Mist at Olds, Lido Lavender at Buick, and Royal Amethyst at Pontiac. It is the original color. I didn't dare do the paint work myself--I wanted it to look good! Hard to tell from the photos, but it's a metallic color.
Is there really a phone this color?! If so, I must own it! My fantasy phone would be the '56 Lincoln color called Wisteria:
(http://i395.photobucket.com/albums/pp40/finlover59/1956%20lincoln/lincoln-premere-m-5.jpg)
(http://i395.photobucket.com/albums/pp40/finlover59/1956%20lincoln/lincoln-premere-m-ho.jpg)
Yep, it looks kinda like an AE 34/40 in Orchid and Chromium. ;D
Here's a pic of an older Old's that a friend has, (sort of an AE 40 Jade Green), but the fins may not be par to Finlover's specs. ;)
There is a collector, Ray Kotke, who has a website and a business to recreate some of these old beauties from years gone by.
Check this place:
http://www.telephonecreations.com/prod01.htm
Scroll down and you will see an AE34 in Orchid color.
An original in good shape commands more that $2-3 thousand dollars.
Jorge
Finlover, I see we'll be fast friends! I was hoping that's wehre your name came from.
- Tom
My Project, 1958 Chevy Delray
(http://i334.photobucket.com/albums/m416/CaledoniaCustoms/1958%20Chevrolet%20Del-Ray/crownvicandwagon039.jpg)
Here's a picture of my finned beauty, however long gone from my driveway.
Notice the date of the photo. The car was ONLY 10 Years old at the time, but even then a classic. ??? i paid $750.00, out the door.
D/P
Tom, I think it's so cool that you appreciate the '50s aesthetic at your age. You yourself look like you just stepped out of my dad's 1957 high school yearbook! I grew up in the absolute dark ages of industrial design--the late '70s/ early '80s, when products were flimsy and shoddily made and it seemed that everything was covered in simulated woodgrain. Objects of the '50s were all clean lines and bright colors, and built like a tank!
Wouldn't it be wonderful to travel back in time to the '50s and just look around (and maybe buy some stuff)? On the other hand, we would probably find society too oppressive and conservative. So by surrounding ourselves with a few treasured objects from that time we really have the best of both the mid- and 21st century worlds!
Of course I love your Chevys. The great thing about restoring them is that practically every part is reproduced. What color will you paint the Del Ray? Or are you going rockabilly with it--black primer, pinstripes and red wheels?
Wow, what a great car, Dan! It doesn't get any more iconic than that. My dad had a '55 Olds Super 88 2 door hardtop in turquoise and white that he bought in 1971 that was the proverbial little old lady car. He still regrets selling that one, but at the time it was just a used car.
Gee finlover, you car is like your phones, so clean and shiny and perfect that it's unreal. Nicely done.
My style tastes run more towards the 60's when stuff got sleeker, I guess that's why my favorite vintage TV show is Star Trek. I also have a fondness for Googie, which was in the 50's as well, with it's over the top space era design.
The late 70's and 80's is a difficult time to care for by those of us who grew up in it, sorta like that for a lot of folks I think about whatever time they grew up in. I work with a teacher who is about 10 years older than me, and he was in another country from about 1980 to 2003, and he left all his clothes of the day at home when he left America. Now that he's back he wears all that old stuff daily to work, thick old school polyester pants and shirts and ties, skinny tight bell bottom polyester slacks, wide 70's striped ties, crazy patterns, etc. (Yeah he still fits in it all) The kids think he is the coolest for wearing that stuff, it's so very late 70's. A few years ago I would not have cared for it, but now I'm looking at it all differently and seeing the coolness there as well. And my parents Mustang II they bought in 74', and it's now rare to see one alive and still on the road, suddenly is looking more interesting as well.
oh my, you got a really nice car finlover :o
Hey finlover, here's an example of someone plagarizing your good phone descriptions
http://tinyurl.com/r5xcdv
PS any of you guys know the AE dial mechanism does NOT make a schck-whirr sound as she said, they are really rather silent!
Thanks a million for watching my back, Dan! I have reported her and hopefully her auction will be pulled. The crazy thing is that she's not a bad writer on her own! Why she gotta do me like that?
Good catch Dan. Why don't they just write their own descriptions? Easier to just cut and paste from others descriptions even if they don't apply? Argh. Or should I say "tsk tsk and schck-whirr".
Quote from: finlover on May 20, 2009, 08:22:31 PM
Thanks a million for watching my back, Dan! I have reported her and hopefully her auction will be pulled. The crazy thing is that she's not a bad writer on her own! Why she gotta do me like that?
No problem, I really like your turquoise WE500 you have up right now too!
Thanks, Dan! I think it will make someone happy.
Unfortunately, the person at eBay reviewing my case didn't see enough similarity between the AE auction and my previous pink ones to bust that lady. :( The problem is that she lifted most of my stuff from an auction that's not in their system anymore. I contacted her directly so she knows I'm onto her. Maybe she'll stop after this.
finlover,
Absolutely beautiful car, and of course your telephones are gorgeous as well.
D/P, I wish I had your 57!!! WOW!!!
Finlover, thank you for the compliment. I think I coulda made it back then rather well. I'm so conservative that I've been called puritanical!
Though I'm a fan of simulated woodgrain (you've all seen my station wagon) things were definately not built well during that era, where stuff from the 50's, I think it was built to survive a nuclear attack. Who needs a bomb-shelter. Just surround yourself in your well-built american posessions!
For you old car nuts, I posted better photos of my '59 Olds on page 2 of this thread. If anyone finds a metallic mauve phone out there, let me know, will you?
Finlover, if you ever need a car sitter, call me up!
finlover,
Congrats on the sale of your turqouise beauty!! I was amazed to watch go that high. Watching the bids on it the last four hours reminded of watching tropical fish after someone just fed them! It definitely deserved the attention. Again, nice job.
p.s. Howdy, from Beaumont.
Thanks, Jester! I was pleasantly surprised myself. I almost kept this one for my own collection, but my '67 turquoise has all matching dates and is even nicer. Plus I have a turquoise '64 awaiting restoration. We'll see how that one turns out.
Just deliver that sucker with keys, and, driver's permit to my driveway. I'll give you absolutely FREE rental for 25 years...... ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
Bill Cahill
What's all this abut peroxide gel?
I thought that peroxide was a liquid.
Welcome to the forum Hobie!
Quote from: Bill Cahill on May 26, 2009, 12:12:55 PM
Just deliver that sucker with keys, and, driver's permit to my driveway. I'll give you absolutely FREE rental for 25 years...... ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
Bill Cahill
Wow, how can I pass up a deal like that?! It worries me a little that you don't have a driver's permit, though...
I'll bet it got taken away because you were trying to use your rotary cell phone while driving!
Finlover;
If only it was that simple.
D/P
Yay, Hobie! :) I was worried, but I bet you just looked at the "other stats" and decided to see how fast you could catch up if you reset to zero. ;)
Are you guys making fun of me...?
D/P